The 13th Annual WBENC National Conference & Business Fair was held the week of June 18th at the Peabody Hotel, Orlando and the Orange County Convention Center. WBENC also celebrated its 15th anniversary.

WBCS Board Member, Pamela O'Rourke of ICON Information Consultants 

was a co-chair of the National Conference & Business Fair this year.

The week featured events and activities beginning on Monday with a technology summit with industry experts from AT&T, Dell, IBM, HP, Cisco, Pitney Bowes, Verizon and Oracle who discussed the future of technology as it applies to WBENC's structure and that of small businesses. A First-time attendee orientation gave those first-timers helpful advice to get the most out of the conference.

On Tuesday, various workshops were available and the evening provided great fun with the WOW Experience which gave attendees a chance to be a part of a live board game during Tuesday evening's reception. They won great prizes while testing their knowledge of the WBENC Community.

Carrie Martinez, president, CM Productions took a moment for a group photo on the Trans-Expedite game square.

The WBCS held its annual Member Reception for over 100 attendees Tuesday evening. 

The Business Fair on Wednesday, held at the Orange County Convention Center, showcased hundreds of exhibitors and had great foot traffic.

"The WBENC conference gave me an opportunity to meet more corporations and WBEs from all parts of the country.  At the trade show I was able to not only make some new connections, but advance some of the relationships I started through WBCS events.  In fact, I came away from the event with new WBCS friends."

--  Carrie Martinez, President, CM Productions, Inc.

Cheryl Stevens of Energy Future Holdings received the William J. Alcorn Leadership award at the WBENC National Conference.

"The William J. Alcorn Leadership Award is very special to me. Bill Alcorn, for whom the award is named, was the first Chair of the WBENC Board of Directors and provided great leadership to WBENC in its early years.  He has been a mentor to me, and was always available for advice and counsel when I served as Chair of the Board.  To be honored with an award celebrating Bill's leadership spirit is such an honor.  

I have always heard that good leaders surround themselves with great people.  At WBENC, with our outstanding staff, innovative and creative WBEs, committed corporate members, and great regional partner organizations, being surrounded with great people is a given.  

I am very proud that our chair, Laura Taylor from Pitney Bowes, and our President and CEO Pamela Prince Eason felt I was deserving of this wonderful honor. "

Cheryl Stevens   

Complete the registration form and e-mail or fax it to 972-973-5501 before July 11^th.

For more information call 972-973-5500. 

Cathy Dougherty
Dougherty Sprague Environmental

Sharon Garman
The RoArk Group

Jane Scott
BrightLeaf Group

Who couldn't use extra cash to grow your business?  By identifying a critical business need and completing the online application you could potentially receive up to $5,000 cash!  

If you are interested in supporting women in business, and making a donation to the Lillie Knox Investing for Growth Fund, contact Flo Cox (817-299-0566 ext 203) with your credit card information to make a tax deductible donation, or mail a check payable to: WBCS, 2201 N. Collins St., Ste 158, Arlington, TX 76011.

"Give Something Back - Celebrating Non-Profits"

&

Metrocrest Chamber Businesswoman of the Year

One Week Leads to Years of Growth

The annual Tuck-WBENC Executive Program, brought to you by IBM, will be held September 30 through October 5, 2012.

New this year, the program will be held at the IBM Learning Center in Armonk, New York.

The Tuck-WBENC Executive Program is an intensive, five-day executive development program for WBENC certified Women's Business Enterprises (WBEs).

It is an intensive learning experience that focuses primarily on increasing the competitive advantage and robustness of the participant's own business. Up to 50 WBE attendees will form a learning community that will continue to provide a source of support, expertise, opportunities and strategic alliances long after graduation.

The curriculum includes finance, marketing, operations and service while incorporating a collaborative learning

environment.

Applications are due by July 13, 2012.    

The 7^th Annual Veterans Business Conference will be held in El Paso on August 15, 2012.  

Congressman Silvestre Reyes and the El Paso Small Business Consortium invite you to take part in a free Veteran's Business Conference for Service Disabled

Veterans, Veteran owned Small Businesses and Veterans seeking to start their own business or employment opportunities.

Sponsorship opportunities are available.

August 15, 2012

8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Continental Breakfast

&

Lunch Provided

Wyndham El Paso Airport Hotel

2027 Airway Blvd.

El Paso, TX 79925

Attendance is free but each attendee must pre-register.

We had a good turnout and good food, a lot of networking, and met some new women entrepreneurs that are interested in joining the WBCS! 

On June 27th we teamed up with BiGAustin, the City of Austin's Women's Business Development Center, to help promote their Above & Beyond, The Call of Duty luncheon, a program to help women veterans prepare for a professional career once they have left the military. 

Two of the Council's friends and supporters in Austin presented the workshops - Jana Owen with Freedom Personal Development and Sharon Schweitzer with Protocol & Etiquette Worldwide. 

Both gave interesting, informative and entertaining presentations for the military women in attendance, along with several of our members, and representatives from many businesses in Austin. 

Nancy Readel, WBCS vice president, spoke on the benefits of certification and the mission of the Women's Council. 

We all want to do whatever we can to help support these brave women as they transition to their new careers!